Principles for Communications

1. All communiqués will be positive in tone while responding to the needs of the people of our diocese to be well informed.

2. Communiqués will be summary in nature, detailed only when necessary for clarity. Brevity is a blessing for all concerned.

3. Transparency is essential. We will be forthcoming in our efforts to communicate the work of our Commission.

4. The Bishop will approve any public communications/statements from the Commission prior to their publication/distribution. All Commission members will be included in the distribution of such communications.

5. We will issue our communiqués and/or press releases to FAITH Magazine, our diocesan Communications Department, our diocesan VOICES Alive newsletter, The Catholic Times and to regional secular newspapers.

6. The Diocesan Director of Communications will be the designated Commission spokesperson and all public inquiries received by the Diocese or any Commission member will be referred to that spokesperson for handling.

7. We will employ the Diocesan website to support our public communications efforts wherever possible. The following are representative of the types of information that, if appropriate, will routinely appear there:
Commission’s mission statement and any other public overarching documents
All press releases, public statements, or other documents made public by the Commission
Roster of Commission members with very brief resumes (two or three lines) pertinent to their appointment to the Commission
FAQs about the Commission’s assignments (e.g. recent Faith Magazine articles on manpower and education issues)

8. Sensitivity, respect, accuracy, discretion and good judgment will characterize any informal discussion Commission members may have with others relative to the Commission’s work.